Monday, January 2, 2012

Update: Lavender Fig Soap

The Lavender Fig soap was cut and sampled by many. It was a hit! I'm almost out! Now I didn't superfat it but I will from now on. This soap is pretty amazing! It has calendula and ground almonds in it and smells just amazing. Here's a break down of the soap:

Lavender: It has antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-toxic, anti-inflammatory, cytophylactic (encourages new skin growth), decongestant, rubefacient, restorative, vulnerary and tonic therapeutic effects on the skin. It's also known for reducing scaring and tones the skin. It's great for all skin types and a great help in sorting out a variety of skin problems. It has a Sweet, calming, soothing, balancing. The scent of Lavender is stress reducing. Balancing, soothing, gently clarifying, normalizing. Fresh, clean. Great for headaches, stress relief, general relaxation, it's also purifying and calming.

Fig: This fragant oil just bring heaven to the soap. Luscious fresh fig notes are highlighted to create a warm and sweetly sensuous fragrance.

Calendula: This flower has been used for centuries as a culinary, medicinal and magical herb. Valued as an antiseptic with numerous skin reparative qualities, Calendula is used for scrapes, cuts, burns, rashes and minor skin irritations.

Ground Almonds: Used in this soap as an Exfoliators making the skin more even in texture. Also helps remove deep down dirt and oil.

Overall, this soap is a winner!

Friday, December 2, 2011

The battle of the YEAST monster!

So as you all know we have been fighting a persistent rash. After talking to some friends of mine I started to look up stuff on a yeast rash. Sure enough, it looks just like the one my little monkey has. Ugh! Now what!

Knowing that I now have yeast in my cloth diapers I put my son in disposables. Super sad and just annoyed that he has to be in them! I'm also feeling so wasteful! I also made a homemade ointment to try and clear up his rash. Coconut oil is one of natures anti-fungal, as well as tea tree oil (TTO). I took the two and mixed them together and have been putting it on every diaper change. I have also been putting some Butt Paste ( the natural one) on top. This seems to be working the best as I continue to research my brains out.

I saw some people used apple cider vinegar to clear up a yeast rash. This made sense to me so I gave it a try. After a few applications my son was crying and grabbing himself, I stopped this treatment right there! Maybe it would help but I am just not a fan of making my little guy any more uncomfortable. Its bad enough he's dealing with this rash and not to mention teething.

His rash seems to be improving but is still there. It doesn't seem as red but you can still see a raised flesh colored rash. So I picked up an anti-fungal cream. Saw Clotrimazole anti-fungal cream recommended on the Dr. Sears website. So here goes nothing!

As for my diapers, going to strip them and treat them with TTO. Have been debating bleaching them. I'm so worried it will destroy them. I will keep you posted on this part of the process as the battle of the yeast monster continues!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Homemade leave-in conditioner/ detangler

This was a hard one to figure out. Having blonde hair means you can't use the normal leave-in recipes you find online. That's right! Mayonnaise will not make my hair silky smooth. It will leave it a greasy mess. So after doing tons of research and trials, I found an amazing leave-in recipe.

You'll need an eight oz squirt bottle, distilled/filtered water, jojoba oil, and your favorite essential oil.
In the squirt bottle pour in about a tablespoon of jojoba oil and add the distiller water to the top. Leave a little bit of room for the top to go on. Lastly add a few drops (to your liking) of the essential oil of your choice. Put the top on, shake, and spray!


Only spray a few sprays. You don't need much at all. I spray my ends and then one spray for the rest of my hair. Brush or comb to make sure it evenly distributed and your done! Enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Great Soap Adventure! Part 1

So I took my class and bought my supplies and now its time, time to make some soap! My friend and I get all the supplies ready, mix the Lye and get it and the oils (Coconut, Palm, and Olive oil) to the right temperature. At this point our essential oils and botanicals are out and ready.
We begin to mix the Lye and oils and get the perfect consistency.  Now to add the goods, in goes the scents and botanicals. The room smelt heavenly as we mixed the two parts into the soap mold. Our next step, WAIT!

This is the hardest part! Waiting! After the soap is placed in the mold it's ready to come out and be cut in 24 hours. Although, if you wait to cut it 3-4 days you get a better soap.  So come Wednesday we will see what we made. During this time the soap is covered and you can't see it.  So Wednesday can come and we find out it didn't mix right or at all. Or it smells horrible! You really don't know what you are getting!

So we wait till Wednesday. Too bad it doesn't stop then. After cutting the soap you have to wait till it cures! UGH! That takes 3 weeks! So we really won't know what we get till December 11th! I'll keep you posted on each step but till then we just wait and hope it turns out awesome. :)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Rash that last!

We have been battling this rash forever it seems! For those who don't know we are a cloth diapering family, and love it. When using cloth you can't just put on any rash ointment, it can destroy your dipes. There are cloth diaper safe ointments and we are putting them to the test!!




CJ Butter, we heard so much about how wonderful you are. I think as a preventive your great but you didn't really seem to put a stop to this rash.

Burt's Bee, you seemed to keep this rash from getting worse but after a few days we didn't see much improvement. I did really like the smell.

Grandma El's, I was so bummed with your performance! I love your products. Just didn't seem to do the job. I did mix this with Earth Mama Angle Bottom Balm and saw some improvement!

I also mixed Burt's with Angle Bottom Balm and saw some improvement. So naturally, I started using Angle Bottom Balm solo and so far I have seen a huge improvement this morning! Hoping this works, I really don't want to do disposables and harsher creams. I will if I have to! Ugh, Lord let this rash go away!!!

Any moms out there have cloth safe rash creams that worked wonders? Let me know I would love to try them!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Get your sugar scrub on!

So after looking up tons of recipes and how to videos, I decided to just jump in! I made my first sugar scrub! It was so simple. I took a little bit of sugar, my choice of oil, some essential oils for an amazing smell, and some secret add ins ;). Thats it! Mix it all together and you're ready to go!



After trying it out my skin felt so smooth and soft. I was so excited about my masterpiece I made (wasn't that hard) my hubby try it. He wanted to eat it...lol. I also packaged some up for my friend. Who by the way loved it it too! Overall sugar scrub project is a success.
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Monday, March 7, 2011

Some causes of gas in babies

  • Many young babies have a certain amount of gas and seem to strain as it is passed or as a bowel movement occurs simply because of the immaturity of their digestive system. This doesn't always indicate a problem. Most babies' bodies manage gas more easily with growth, maturity, and greater activity. As long as your baby is not overly bothered by the gas or has no other symptoms of food sensitivity or other problems, then "tincture of time" is likely the best solution.
  • Too much milk too fast, so that baby gulps and chokes and takes in too much air along with the milk.
  • Anything that causes baby to take in too much air may result in a gassy baby (what goes in must come out!):
    • Crying - Babies swallow air when they are crying, so crying is more likely to be thecause of gas, rather than the result of gas.
    • Bottlefeeding - Babies usually swallow more air when drinking from a bottle. When using bottles, use the slowest-flow nipples so baby doesn't get overwhelmed with the milk flow. To reduce air swallowing, keep baby at about a 45 degree angle (rather than lying down), make sure baby has a good seal on the base of the nipple, and keep the bottle tilted so the neck & nipple are filled with milk. There are also varieties of bottles that aim to reduce air swallowing. Don't let baby suck on an empty bottle. Burp baby more often if he seems to be swallowing too much air.
  • Overabundant milk supply.
  • Thrush can cause gassiness in babies.
  • Babies who skip several days between stools tend to be gassier. Older breastfed babies (after the first 6-8 weeks) can go several days without a stool. Ten days or more is not uncommon! The long periods between stools in a baby who is obviously thriving is not a cause for concern if the baby's abdomen remains soft, baby is content and alert, and the stool is soft and profuse if several days have gone by.
  • Sensitivity to something in mother's diet, including any vitamin/iron supplements, etc.  If this is the reason, you will most likely notice other symptoms, such as excessive spitting up or vomiting, colic, diarrhea, rash, persistent congestion or runny nose.
  • Anything that baby is eating/drinking other than mother's milk, including vitamins, formula, teas, medications or herbs, solids, juice. Any substance (other than breastmilk) has a much greater potential to increase gassiness rather than reduce it.
  • Formula feeding tends to cause more gas and digestive upset for most babies because it is not specific to the human baby. Formula-fed babies overall tend to spit up more, be constipated more, have more gas, be more colicky, have more intestinal illnesses, etc. Remember, too, that supplementation most always undermines your milk supply and may result in premature weaning.

Frequently Asked Questions about breastfeeding and gassy babies

Breastmilk is made from what passes into mom's blood, not what is in her stomach or digestive track. Below are a few common questions that moms have about breastfeeding and gassy babies.
Can drinking carbonated sodas cause gas in baby? No. For something to pass into your milk, it must first pass into your bloodstream. It's the carbonation in sodas, etc. that can cause gas in mom. The bubbles in a carbonated drink cannot pass into your milk and affect baby. If this could happen, you'd have carbonated blood and carbonated milk!
If mom is gassy, can that make baby gassy? No. Gas in mom's body cannot pass into breastmilk.

Popular treatments for gas in babies

Time
For most babies, the number one most effective treatment for gas is TIME. Babies are born with an immature digestive system, and it needs time to mature. Until this happens, baby is likely to be gassy no matter what you do. Some babies "wake up" around 3-4 weeks to all the new GI sensations they are feeling and get really unhappy about it. If you cannot find an apparent cause for your baby's gassiness, he probably just needs a little more time to mature.
Gripe water, fennel tea or other herbal remedies
Herbal remedies have been used for gassy babies for a countless number of years. I prefer to avoid using herbal remedies for gas in young babies. Here are my reasons:
  • In a healthy baby, anything other than breastmilk is more likely to cause problems rather than solve them.
  • Giving baby substances other than breastmilk can alter the intestinal flora and reduce the protective qualities of exclusive breastfeeding, thus making baby more susceptable to illness and allergies.
  • Many of these products contain mixtures of herbs or other substances, thus putting baby more at risk for adverse reactions. Some contain alcohol, so read labels very carefully.
  • Most of these products have not been tested in infants for safety or effectiveness.
  • It is more effective to look at treating the causes, rather than simply trying to treat the symptoms.
Note: Star anise has been associated with illness ranging from serious neurological effects, such as seizures, to vomiting, jitteriness and rapid eye movement.
Mint tea is sometimes used for gas and gas pains. Peppermint oil and tea can be dangerous if given directly to babies. Large amounts of peppermint or spearmint are known to decrease milk supply, and mint tea is traditionally used for decreasing milk supply - breastfeeding mothers should avoid drinking mint tea regularly or in large amounts.
Simethicone drops (Mylicon, Ovol)
This medication is considered quite safe, as it is not absorbed by the body. It breaks down bubbles of gas trapped in the stomach and the intestines. Whether this treatment is effective is a different story, however. In clinical trials, simethicone drops have been shown to be effective in reducing the total amount of gas passed. However, they have not been shown to be more effective than a placebo when the study focused on baby's total crying time and the severity of colic-like episodes.